Posted on 07/23/2003 9:53:14 AM PDT by PhiKapMom
July 23, 2003
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"Even he's cracked. I mean, this was a crack like when he ran for president the first time, when he flipped his vote on abortion, a moral issue. ... He says things I don't think he believes. He said in here, 'I believe George Bush has made us less safe and less secure than we were four years ago.' He can't believe that. I mean, Al Qaeda is dispersed, Saddam is out of power, Iran has problems with young people rebelling against it, Syria is scared of the U.S. now, Libya today, the son of General Qaddafi was pleading with the U.S. to be nice, we want to have a friendly relationship and so on, the middle east peace negotiations are moving and all these things, and he says America is less safe and secure? I say he does not believe a word of that." (Fred Barnes, Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume," 7/22/03)
In 1997, Gephardt Suggested U.S. Must Stop Spending "As Much On Intelligence As In The Cold War." (Jerry Berger, "A Gephardt Supporter Pops Up In The Kennedy Family," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1/20/97)
Two Years Later He Wanted To Shift Intelligence And Defense Funding To "Other Parts Of The Budget." "We spend a lot of money, and I think in a repetitious matter, on intelligence. I think we could save money in that part of the budget." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 6/13/99)
And Gephardt Has Voted At Least Five Times To Slash Intelligence Budget. (H.R. 1655, CQ Vote #654: Rejected 162-262: R 37-193; D 124-69; I 1-0, 9/13/95, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 3259, CQ Vote #187: Rejected 192-235: R 37-193; D 154-42; I 1-0, 5/22/96, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 1775, CQ Vote #253: Rejected 142-289: R 27-198; D 114-91; I 1-0, 7/9/97, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 1775, CQ Vote #255: Rejected 182-238: R 23-199; D 158-39; I 1-0, 7/9/97, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 3694, CQ Vote #137: Rejected 120-291: R 21-196; D 98-95; I 1-0, 5/7/98, Gephardt Voted Yea)
2001: Less Than One Month Before September 11th, Gephardt Criticized President Bush's Budget Proposal, Suggesting Defense Spending Be Cut. NBC's Tim Russert: "What programs should the president reduce in the new budget?" Gephardt: "Well, you can make cuts in defense ..." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/19/01)
1994: Voted For Fiscal '95 Defense Authorization, Which Represented Reduction From Previous Fiscal Year. "President Clinton's $263.8 billion defense budget request for fiscal 1995 proved remarkably resistant to attacks from both the left and the right." Clinton had pledged to cut $123 billion "over five years from the long-term Pentagon spending plan he inherited from President George Bush." (H.R. 4301, CQ Vote #226: Passed 260-158: R 31-143; D 229-14; I 0-1, 6/9/94, Gephardt Voted Yea; S. 2182, CQ Vote #404: Adopted 280-137: R 57-113; D 223-23; I 0-1, 8/17/94, Gephardt Voted Yea; "Congress Backs Clinton's Plans To Hold The Line On Defense," CQ Almanac, 1994, p. 421)
1993: Voted For Fiscal '94 Defense Authorization, Which Reduced President Clinton's Already-Reduced Defense Funding Levels. The bill reduced President Clinton's requested funding, already close to $10 billion less than the amount appropriated for the previous fiscal year, by approximately $2.6 billion. (H.R. 2401, CQ Vote #474: Passed 268-162: R 38-136; D 230-25; I 0-1, 9/29/93, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 2401, CQ Vote #565: Adopted 273-135: R 50-120; D 223-15, 11/15/93, Gephardt Voted Yea; "$261 Billion Authorized For Defense," CQ Almanac, 1993, p. 433)
1992: Called For More Defense Spending Cuts. "Mr. Gephardt clamored for deeper cuts in defense spending, saying: 'Not only is the Cold War over, as the president said, but World War II is over.'" (Paul Bedard and Frank J. Murray, "'It Will Work,' Bush Declares," The Washington Times, 1/31/92)
1990: Voted For Fiscal '91 Defense Authorization, Which Slashed President Bush's Funding Request By More Than $20 Billion. "The legislation, providing $24 billion less than President Bush requested, cuts by more than half the $4.7 billion sought by the White House ..." (H.R. 4739, CQ Vote #352: Passed 256-155: R 33-135; D 223-20, 9/19/90, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 4739, CQ Vote #517: Adopted 271-156: R 65-109; D 206-47, 10/24/90, Gephardt Voted Yea; Tom Kenworthy, "Despite Veto Threat, House Cuts Favored Defense Programs," The Washington Post, 9/20/90)
1988: Voted For Fiscal '89 Defense Authorization, Which Called For Significant Cuts In Pentagon Spending. "The House Wednesday passed a $299.5-billion defense spending bill for fiscal 1989 that President Reagan insisted would weaken his bargaining position on a new arms control agreement with the Soviet Union. The bill, approved by a 252-172 vote, is the last major defense authorization legislation of the Reagan era and calls for a real cut in Pentagon spending for the fourth straight year." (H.R. 4264, CQ Vote #126: Passed 252-172: R 39-136; D 213-36, 5/11/88, Gephardt Voted Yea; H.R. 4264, CQ Vote #233: Adopted 229-183: R 24-147; D 205-36, 7/14/88, Gephardt Voted Yea; Sara Fritz, "$299.5-Billion Defense Bill Passed By House," Los Angeles Times, 5/12/88)
1987: Suggested Freezing Defense Budget. "'I think you can freeze the defense budget for three years if you are able to redefine security and make agreements with the Soviets that would make it easier to cut our weapon systems,' Gephardt said." (Scott Sonner, "Gephardt: Defense Freeze Possible," United Press International, 4/25/87)
1985: Said House Democrats Would Consider Cutting Defense Spending. "Gephardt said that when House Democrats act on the budget, they will consider all options, including cutting defense spending and Social Security and raising taxes." (Boyce Rensberger, "Reagan Chided On Budget Role," The Washington Post, 1/14/85)
1984: Called For "Slowdowns" In Defense Spending. "You've got to have slowdowns in defense and domestic spending programs, to a certain negotiated consensus level. And you have to have revenue changes." (Rep. Gephardt As Quoted In, "Working Together Is High On The List Of '85 Challenges," The New York Times, 11/11/84)
1983: Supported Cutting Billions From President Reagan's Proposed Defense Spending Level. "The $863 billion plan approved by the Democratic-dominated House Budget committee this week would cut $9.3 billion from the president's proposed $30 billion increase in defense spending ... 'He wants high deficits and slow growth,' Gephardt said. 'We're planning for lower deficits and faster growth.'" (Elmer W. Lammi, "Reagan Blasted For 'Silly' Charges," United Press International, 3/19/83)
"I'll Lead An Administration And An Alliance That Will Work To Prevent Threats From Emerging In The First Place ... By Improving Our Intelligence Capabilities." (Rep. Gephardt, Prepared Remarks, San Francisco Bar Association, 7/22/03)
Gephardt Said Assets "On The Ground" Are "Really Necessary" For "Good Intelligence." (Rep. Gephardt On Fox News Channel's "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, 7/17/03)
Gephardt Promises "Unshakeable Commitment" To Defense If Elected President. "[L]et's bury the partisan parody once and for all. As president, I'll begin and end with an unshakeable commitment to keep our defenses strong. ... I'll make sure our armed forces remain the best-equipped, best-trained, best-led fighting force in the entire world." (Rep. Gephardt, Prepared Remarks, San Francisco Bar Association, 7/22/03)
Gephardt Says, "We Need The Strongest, Best-Prepared Military In Human History." (Rep. Gephardt, Prepared Remarks, San Francisco Bar Association, 7/22/03
Whoever put this together deserves a promotion.
Bingo. They're looking at Dean's dollars, his poll jump in New Hamster, etc., and they want what he's got. Also, I'm noticing that among the local leftists, the dividing line is between the real loonballs (Kucinich supporters waxing googly-eyed over the Department of Peace) and the majority, who are salivating over a Dean-Bush match. Nobody cares about Gephardt or Edwards, and those who like Kerry mainly like him for Theresa's money, not his politics or personality (or lack thereof).
The defining issue for the Dems right now is the war. The Dem activists hated the war and hate our success even more. Any Dem who doesn't bash Bush on this issue might as well give up on even the possibility of getting the VP nomination.
I'll second that. Heck, they probably had it waiting already; Gephardt changed his views on baby-killing for political expediency, why not change his views on Saddam-killing for the same reason?
Yep and Dean will say anything they want him to say.
They haven't realized that Dean is a dolt and couldn't debate himself out of paper bag.
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